But senior Romney campaign adviser Kevin Madden said on the same program that the attacks on Mr. Romney are little more than an attempt by the Obama campaign to distract from the president’s record on jobs and the economy.

“It is very troubling that the president would direct his campaign to label someone like Romney as a felon,” Mr. Madden said.

The ramped-up attacks on Mr. Romney were the focus of all the Sunday political talk shows, with both sides again exchanging sharply worded charges and countercharges.

But while Ms. Cutter wasn’t backing down, other Obama administration officials seemed to want to walk back Ms. Cutter’s comments that Mr. Romney may have committed “a felony” by signing documents at Bain Capital.

Ms. Cutter said Mr. Romney is either lying to the American people or the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“If you’re telling the SEC that you are in charge but you’re telling the American pepole you were not, one of those statements is false,” she said.

“Those two things both can’t be true,” she added. “Either you’re in charge or you’re not.”

She then suggested Mr. Romney was likely telling the SEC the truth and deceiving the American people.

“I think he was involved in Bain Capital,” she said. “What he’s doing is misrepresenting himself to the American people.”

But Mr. Madden pointed out that fact-checkers already have said Mr. Romney was telling the truth on a complicated matter that the Obama campaign is taking out of context. He explained that while Mr. Romney wasn’t involved in day-to-day activities after 1999, he still had a duty to sign documents in his limited role with the company.

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About the Author

Tim Devaney is a national reporter who covers business and international trade for The Washington Times. Previously, he worked for the Detroit News, Grand Rapids Press, Portland Press Herald and Bangor Daily News. Tim can be reached at tdevaney@washingtontimes.com.